A new band means another chance to catch musician Christian Ryan playing

August 30, 2014

There’s a new afrobeat band in town, Bengali 600, and Christian Ryan is in it. Of course that should come as no surprise to fans of the Orlando musician. The man and his saxophone rarely seem to have a night off. Frequently he will he have three shows in one night playing with different bands at different venues, sometimes he will play with all the bands on a single bill and if there’s a festival, look out because he’ll be all over the place.

Ryan is officially a member of Orlando bands Leisure Chief, Evan Taylor Jones Band, Holey Miss Moley, Control This and I-Resolution. He also recently sat in or played shows with Joy Wagon, S.P.O.R.E., Ancient Sun, Legacy Orchestra Collective, Meiuuswe, The Groove Orient and Jeff White & Soul Taxi. He will also make a guest appearance with the Savi Fernandez Band’s show at The Social on September 5.

The young saxophonist feels driven to play with all these bands or in his words, “Insanity! Really, my passion to perform music is what keeps me going. I love playing for an engaging audience. There is nothing else like it. I can’t go a couple nights in a row without having an itch to play somewhere, even if it’s just going to sit in on a tune.”

Bengali 600 is a big band, when they can all manage to get together for a show. The members include (but not limited to) Christian Ryan (baritone sax), Jeff Richey (tenor sax), Joe Meadows (trumpet), Will Nestler (trombone), Aaron Mellick (guitar), Todd Elliot (bass), Rogier van Etten (keys), Robby Copeland (drums) and Vernon Suber (percussion).

Music fans can check out Bengali 600 and Christian Ryan’s debut with the band at Will’s Pub in Orlando on September 14.